ST4 (cable) autoguiding attempt

Date/Time: 2/24/2023 1630-1830

People: Gabriel, Shrey

Spaces Occupied: Control room, dome

Goals: Find an alternative way to connect the telescope to PHD2 for autoguiding purposes

Log: 

1. Split ST4 cable into its pins.

2. The pinout seems different from other ST4 cables/ports/interfaces on the internet.

   1. Blue = Unused

   2. Yellow = GND

   3. Green = West

   4. Red = South

   5. Black = North

   6. White = East

3. Connected ASI178MM to DC via ZWO USB3.0 cable. Connected to right Cyan USB port on the back of the DC.

4. On PHD2, goto "Guide" → "Connect equipment" → "Mount" → Select "ASI ST4 Telescope Driver (ASCOM)" → "Connect"

5. After a successful connection, goto "Tools" → "Manual guide". Set the Guide pulse duration to 3000ms (This is only for testing, when autoguiding this needs to be much smaller.)

6. After connecting the multimeter prongs to "GND" and red pin on the cable and putting the multimeter in resistance measuring mode, pressed "South" on PHD2 manual guide window.

7. The meter shows a resistance of 210Ω while the guide pulse is ongoing. 

8. After connecting the ST4 GND → front paddle port pin 9 and Red st4 pin → p2 on front paddle port, I pressed "South" on "Manual Guide" window on PHD2, while also holding down the slew button on the other handpaddle. The telescope slewed south.

Note: 

The telescope only does the slight movement mentioned in my last post when "Drives" switch is on and "MDC" switch is turned off. No movement occurs when "Drives" switch is turned off first. 

Todo:

• Order ZWO USB to ST4 adapter. 

• Order a 14pin AMP male connector

• Make an actual RJ-12 to 14pin AMP adapter cable.